Identity Protection News

It just got easier for criminals to read your RFID cards data with this FREE app.

A smartphone app, which allows the user to read RFID cards like credit card information through wallets and purses, is cause for concern amongst consumers that carry credit cards with radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, according to experts.

The free app, available on the Samsung Galaxy S3 through the Google Play store, allows the phone to read the RFID chip on a credit card, picking up the cardholder’s name, credit card number and expiry date, according to a CBC investigation.

A quote from David Skillicorn, a professor at the school of computing at Queens University.

But there is nothing inherent in the technology that says it has to be within three to four inches if you turn the power up you can push it out to 10 or 15 feet,

That’s where the trouble starts because now you don?t have to be very close to the credit card or the passport in order to read the information on it.

The CBC investigation into the application revealed that credit card information could be read through wallets, pockets and purses using the phones near field communication (NFC) antenna. Theoretically, this means that someone using the app could gain access to your credit card information by just standing near you.